Pfizer, Lilly, Boston Scientific surge on earnings

Anacor plunges as analysts say its nail treatment may fall short

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — A trio of health-care companies saw their shares surge to 52-week highs Tuesday, propelled higher as they issued quarterly financial results that came in ahead of estimates.

Boston Scientific Corp.
BSX, +0.52%
which has struggled to regain its footing after several years of difficulties, added more than 3% to $7.10. Before the bell, the company reported fourth-quarter sales came in ahead of estimates and said adjusted 2013 earnings could beat forecasts.

The company said net income was $60 million, or 4 cents a share, for the December quarter, down from $107 million or 7 cents a share in the same period during 2011. Quarterly sales eased to $1.82 billion against the prior year’s $1.85 billion.

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Adjusted earnings of 11 cents a share came in on target with forecasts among analysts polled by FactSet, but sales had been expected to be lower, at $1.76 billion.

Boston Scientific also said adjusted earnings for 2013 could amount to a range of 64 cents to 70 cents a share, excluding divestiture credits, restructuring charges and amortization expense. The FactSet-compiled consensus estimate is 37 cents to 43 cents a share.

Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc.
PFE, +0.92%
also hit the refresh button on a 52-week high when it exceeded consensus profit and sales estimates for the fourth quarter, despite patent expirations on the cholesterol medication Lipitor and the antipsychotic drug Geodon, as well as the spinoff of Zoetis.

Shares of Pfizer, part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.32%
advanced by more than 3% to $27.70.

Pfizer said fourth-quarter net income was $6.32 billion, or 85 cents a share, compared with $1.44 billion or 19 cents a share for the same period a year ago. Sales fell to $15.1 billion against $16.1 billion in the year-earlier fourth quarter.

Adjusted earnings were 47 cents a share, up from the 44-cent consensus derived in a FactSet poll. Analysts had forecast sales of $14.4 billion.

Pfizer also projected adjusted earnings of $2.20 to $2.30 a share for 2013, while FactSet data showed the average analyst estimate at $2.29 a share.

Fellow drug maker Eli Lilly & Co.
LLY, -0.04%
had a similar story to tell, as its shares jumped by more than 3% to $54.32. The company beat earnings and sales projections for the December quarter, and upped its 2013 forecast.

Lilly said fourth-quarter profit came to $827.2 million, or 74 cents a share, compared with $858.2 million or 77 cents a share for the same period a year earlier. Quarterly sales were $5.96 billion against last year’s $6.05 billion.

Lilly says Washington’s delayed enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 should yield an extra 7 cents a share in earnings for 2013, bringing its adjusted forecast up to a range of $3.82 to $3.97 a share. The consensus estimate had called for $3.73 a share.

Finally, a small-cap pharma company saw its value plunge by one-fifth when it reported results of tests on a drug used to treat toenail fungus may fall short of those by its competitor.

Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc.
ANAC, +0.33%
went into free fall, off 36% premarket and down more than 20% at the close to $4.11. Anacor’s tavaborole went through a phase 3 test and in the primary endpoint tests, 6.5% of patients experienced a “complete cure” with a clear nail.

That fell short of the tests recently conducted by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.
VRX, +1.28%
according to Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Juan Sanchez. He said Valeant’s treatment, known as efinaconazole 10%, resulted in a cure rate of 17.8% in its first study and 15.2% in its second.

“We believe it is unlikely the second tavaborole phase 3 clinical trial generates data superior to [Valeant’s] efinaconazole 10%,” Sanchez wrote to clients.

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